Bowling pin setting device



April 30, 1940. w; 1'. STATES BOWLING PI'N SETTING DEvIE Filed Sept. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTDR.

A TTDRNEYS.

April 1 4 I w. "r. STATES 2.198.954

BOWLING PIN SETTING DEVICE Filed Sept. '7. 1938 2 shet's-sne; 2

Patented Apr. 30,, 1940 BOWLING PIN SETTING DEVICE Will '1. States, Ber-ea, Ohio I Application September 1 Claim.

bowling alley pin setters.

The present invention is an improvement over that shown in my prior Patent No. 1,217,235 granted February 27, 1917, wherein means was provided for automatically placing and accurately spotting bowling pins in their proper position on an alley.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide improved means for lowering and raising the pin setters into and out of operative positions with respect to the alley.

Another object is the provision of novel means for automatically operating the pin guides for accurating, placing and spotting the bowling pins on the alley.

A further object is to provide a novel means of mounting the pin guides on the pin setter frame in such a manner that there is no possibility of the guides becoming misaligned or out of order during their travel into and out of operative position.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent as the specification is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: a

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pin setter in elevated loading position on a bowling alley;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the raising and lowering mechanism;

Figure 3 is a plan view of "the pin setter rackand frame;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a bottom view of the pin settin device.

Referring more particularly to the drawings. wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

; the numeral I designates generally a portion of the bowling alley, of conventional construction, having the usual vertically disposed center to the sides of the center boards 2, as at I, and

boards or side walls 2 which separate the respec- 7, 1938, Serial no. 228,830

the upper ends thereof are fixed in a cross bar or beam ll. Two bearings I! are suitably mounted on the bar [I in which is journalled a shaft l3 having two pulleys or sheaves l4 fixed on the ends thereof and a third pulley or sheave l5 'interposed between pulleys l4. The ends of cables I6 are connected to the pulleys l4 and cross bar 6, respectively, and a third cable I! is connected to and wound around the center pulley IS, the free end of the cable ll being provided with a suitable handle l8.

In order to maintain the pin setter frame 4 in its normal elevated or raised position, as shown in Figure 1, before the pins have been positioned 'in the frame, a tension coil spring I9 is provided. This spring is mounted on pulley shaft l3 and is connected at its ends to the main pulley I5 and to a sleeve or the like Ml suitably loosely mounted on the shaft 13 adjacent one of the pulleys l4. A plurality of holes 2| are formed in the sleeve 20 for the reception of a pin or key 23, thus permitting the sleeve and spring l9 to be'rotated the desired amount to adjust the tension of the spring. The pin 23 is left in the sleeve so that when the spring slips the key will engage the bar 'II and lock the sleeve 20 and spring l9 against further rotation. The tension of the coil spring 19 is suflicient to counterbalance and maintain the pin setter frame and rack in normal elevated or raised position after the pins are loaded thereon at which time the handle I8 is pulled down by the operator and the frame and rack descend to operative position with respect to the alley.

Downwardlydepending stems or rods 24 are mounted on the underside of pin setter frame 4 and when the frame is lowered to operative position the same extend downwardly into suitable tubular sockets 25- formed in the alley l. The stems or rods 24 thus serve to accurately guide the frame 4 in its vertical movement for the accurate setting of the'bowling pins, in a manner hereinafter described. 7

A pin rack 26 is supported for horizontal movement on the upper face of the main frame 4 by means of rollers or the like 21 which travel in longitudinally disposed guide tracks 28 formed on the frame 4. The rack is formed with a series of pockets 29, corresponding to the number of bowling pins used in the playing of the game; 10- cated-in accordance with the proper spotting or setting of the pins upon spots 30 on the alley. The main frame 4 is likewise formed with suitable openings 3| permitting thedropplng of bowling pins P therethrough on to the alley I, when the rack 26 has automatically moved the series of pins to upright position, in a manner to be presently described, after the pins have been tossed' or otherwise inserted within the rack pockets 29. The forward walls 295 of the pockets 29 increase in heighth toward the front of the rack which enables the operator to toss the pins P forwardly into the rack so that the lower ends of the pins abut the front walls 29', of the pockets and hold the pins in inclined position within the openings, as shown inFigure 1.

Automatically adjustable downwardly depending pin guides 32 are mounted for lateral or swinging movement in substantially U-shaped brackets or hangers 33 secured to the underside of the frame 4 by screws or. the like 34, adjacent to and at circumferentially and regularly spaced points relative to the margin of the pin openings 3| in the frame. Each side wall 35 of the brackets 33 is provided with upper and lower substantially arcuately shaped spaced oflset slots or apertures 36 and 38 respectively, through which extend spaced, slightly offset, upper and lower headed pins 31 on the sides of the pin guides 32. The uppermost or top slots 36 are relatively short and contain a small arc, whereas the lowermost or bottom slots 38 are longer and extend through a greater arc. Due to the spaced, slightly offset position of and the differences in the arcs of the respective upper and lower slots 36 and 38, it follows that when the main pin setter frame 4 is in normal elevated position, the guides 32 will be in substantial vertical position with the outer or rear faces 40 engaging the flat rear walls 4| of the hangers 33 and the pins 31 will be located at the lower ends of the respective slots. As the upper and lower ends of the guides 32 are beveled, as at 42, when the frame 4 is lowered the lower ends of the guides engage the surface of the alley I and swing inwardly and upwardly in an are about the axis of the pins 31, until the beveled'upper ends 42, of the guides, contact the bottom of the frame 4 and the pins 31 reach the upper ends of the slots 36 and 38 respectively, as best shown in Figure 4, at which position the slightly concave inner side faces 43 of the guides engage the sides of the bowling pins P andset the latter in upright positionupon the spots 30 on the alley. Thus, theguides freely swing or float to and from operative position about the axis of the pins 31' moving in the respective upper and lower slots 36 and 38.

Plunger-s or rods 44, having shoes or blocks 45 on their lower ends for contact with the surnected to links 56 which are pivoted at their free face of the alley, are slidably fitted within vertica-lly disposed guide sleeves 46 mounted at suitable points on the underside of the frame 4. Rocking bell crank levers 41 are pivoted in suitable bearings 48 carried by the frame .4 and to one end of each" is pivoted a link 48 which in turn is pivoted to the shoe 45 as at 45', and the other end of the bell cranks 41 are pivotally conends to the rack 26, as at 50'. When the frame inwardly to grip the sides pins P.

claim.

* swingingly moved into engagement tact with the alley l and the bell cranks 41 are rocked in their bearings 46, by links 46, to act upon the links 50, thus causing the pin setter rack 26 to slide horizontally on the main frame 4. As the bowling pins P are disposed in inclined position in the rack pockets 29, the rack moves with respect to the main frame 4, engages and automatically causes the pins P to assume an upright position so that they, due to their own weight, drop through the pin openings 3| in the frame 4. The guides 32 upon engagement with the surface of the alley are automatically swung of the pins P, as previously described, and therefore bring the pins to true upright position and center the same exactly over the pin spots 30 on the alley. When the frame 4 moves upwardly due to the tension of spring I9, the pin guides 32 will swing away from the upright pins P and the weight ofthe shoes 45 will rock the bell cranks 41, which act on the links 50 andautomatically move the pin rack 26 laterally to its normal position with respect to the main frame 4, as best shown in Figure 1.

The tension of the spring l9 acting on the pulley cables I 6 is sufllcient to counter balance the empty and/or loaded frame 4 and pin setter rack 26 in elevated or raised position, as shown in Figure l, and when the bowling pins P are positioned in the rack downwardly by the operator which lowers the frame and rack until the guides 32 and shoes 46 contact the floor of the alley and the pins P are righted and centered on the pin spots 30.

When the cable I l is pulled downwardly the spring I9 is wound up or 'the tension thereof is increased, so that as soon as the pins P have been spotted on the alley, the operator-releases lifts the frame and rack to normal loading position, preparatory to While a preferred embodiment of the pin setting mechanism has been illustrated and described it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In a pin setting device for a bowling alley, the combination with said alley of a support having a. frame slidably and vertically movable thereon, a rack shiftable on said frame, said frame and rack having pin depositing openings, supporting members projecting downwardly from said frame, arcuate slots in said members, and pin positioning members having projections extending into and slidable in said slots whereby said pin positioning members. are slidably and with the pins to position the same on said alley.

. WILL T. STATES.

.26 the handle I8 is pulled again receiving the bowling 

